1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a diagnostic voice instructing apparatus which gives instruction data to a patient in voice form in synchronism with a scanning operation at a time the patient is scanned using an X-ray computed tomography (CT) apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an X-ray CT apparatus serving as one of medical diagnostic apparatuses, image data of a patient required for medical diagnosis is acquired through scanning of the patient. In this case, however, a doctor needs to give the proper instructions to the patient in voice form at the beginning and the end of the scanning operation, or at the time of a probable interruption of the operation. To attain image data of only a single slice, the doctor has only to voice the necessary instructions, and would probably do so as it is not troublesome. To attain three-dimensional image data which requires several dozens of slices, however, the doctor's voice may become hoarse if the doctor repeatedly voices such instructions for all the slices.
As a solution to this problem, a diagnostic voice instructing apparatus, or so-called voice and scan system, has been developed which, in place of an operator, generates instructing voices that are to be given to a patient when a CT apparatus scans the patient, in synchronism with the scanning operation.
However, conventional diagnostic voice instructing apparatuses have a simple function to read out instructing voices which have been recorded in advance in a ROM or the like by a manufacture before factory shipment, in a predetermined sequence, in synchronism with the scanning operation, and they are therefore not designed for general purpose. For instance, the conventional apparatuses cannot be applied to patients who cannot understand the pre-recorded voice instructions, such as foreigners, or people whose official language is the same as that of the voice instructions but who speak and understand only dialects. Further, the contents of voice instructions or the sequence of reading out the voice instructions may vary depending on the contents of diagnosis, and the conventional diagnostic voice instructing apparatuses cannot deal with such a case.